When you’re snuggled in bed listening to a story, do you ever wonder what’s happening elsewhere in the world, way beyond your cozy covers, far away?

Around the World Right Now, by mother-daughter team Gina Cascone and Bryony Williams Sheppard, provides some engaging answers. Lively drawings by Olivia Beckman, a Spanish illustrator, makes this trip around the globe a colorful and cheerful one as families of a multitude of nationalities eat gelato, skip rope and dance across the pages. This clever read-aloud shows the world and its cultures through a snapshot of one point in time in each of the world’s 24 time zones.

While you snooze through the night, the rest of the world is wide awake, laughing, camping and carrying on. The book opens on a noisy San Francisco street, where the clang of the cable car gives way to the sound of jazz musicians playing near the Mississippi in New Orleans. Then it’s off to New York, Nova Scotia and Brazil, where the strains of bossa nova linger in the air. A lemur joins a family picnic in Madagascar in the afternoon, and deep in the Pacific Ocean, a baby whale is born. Before dawn, a moose strolls through an Alaskan town while the residents sleep. Every minute, as we whisk around the world, “something wonderful is happening.”

The whirlwind tour ends with a number of useful facts and instructions for crafting a paper-plate sundial.

Billie B. Little is the Founding Director of Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, a hands-on museum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

This tribute to summer, the third book from Tom Brenner about a particular time of year (following And Then Comes Halloween and And Then Comes Christmas), celebrates the school-free, hot and hazy days of one of the most memory-making seasons.

It’s a time when “the days stretch out like a slow yawn,” as the book opens, “and leaves and grasses sparkle with dew.” The author captures the sights and sounds of the season: It’s a time for flip-flops, bumblebees, the sound of lawn mowers, bicycles, lemonade stands, daylight that “pushes back bedtimes,” Fourth of July parades, fireworks, visits to the lake and more. There’s exuberance on the last day of school, as illustrator Jaime Kim shows a group of children cheering in a hallway, some giving friends hugs to send them off to summer.

Kim brings readers a diverse cast of playmates; this is truly a multicultural neighborhood. It’s idyllic and picturesque: No child forgets to put on their helmet when riding bikes, and starred-and-striped flags wave all around. In this world, the children aren’t overscheduled. They’re not shuffled off to summer camp of one sort or another; these kids get to fill their summer days with play at home. And they love it—even on the days of boredom when “it’s so hot you’re practically panting and not even the sprinklers provide relief.” Still, there’s joy radiated on every sun-sparkling spread.

Brenner paces the book well, leading up to a family’s jubilant visit to "Lake Sunnyside. Old friends gather to swim all afternoon in the “silver lake” and then congregate at night for marshmallows, chocolate and some guitar-playing at the campfire. It all winds down and wraps up with the family snuggled in sleeping bags, ready for tomorrow’s adventure.

It’s the utter joy of summer captured in 32 pages, bursting with energy and nostalgia. This is a recommended read for the final day of school as students anticipate freedom from homework and sunny, lazy days.

Julie Danielson features authors and illustrators at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children’s literature blog.

In this lovely tale of gardens and friendship, a young narrator named Laurel observes Honey, her neighbor with a green thumb. Laurel enjoys handouts of tiny carrots and juicy, yellow tomatoes, watches through her window when Honey digs in the rain and sometimes joins Honey for a nighttime picnic.

But when Honey must sell her house, Laurel experiences the sadness of losing a friend. Not only that, she realizes Honey won’t be around to enjoy the fruits of all her hard work. Honey assures her that’s just fine. And if the new owners add something, “the garden will keep going . . . maybe forever.”

When the new neighbors, who know nothing about gardens, move in, Laurel is ready. She transitions from observing to acting, using all she learned from Honey to keep the garden growing.

Author Laurel Snyder’s gentle, lyrical text is brought to vivid life by Samantha Cotterill’s exuberant illustrations, which capture the joy of gardening and the growing friendship between a child and her neighbor. In a helpful author’s note, Snyder explains that The Forever Garden is based loosely on a Talmudic story. “I love the idea that people are gardens too,” she writes, “and that they bear the fruit tended by many generations of gardeners.” This is the perfect book to welcome spring, reminding us to tend not only gardens but also the friendships we treasure.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is A Letter to My Teacher.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

What’s it like inside the mind of an artist at work? Readers will get an uplifting look at the process in Corinna Luyken’s debut picture book, The Book of Mistakes.

“It started with one mistake,” the book begins, showing a small face on a big white page with one eye noticeably larger than the other. Even the correction fails, as the new eye is even larger than the first. Then voilà, a pair of bright green glasses fixes everything.

As this face evolves into a girl, clever fixes cover additional mistakes: a lacy collar on a too-long neck, elbow patches that disguise a misshapen elbow, roller skates on shoes that don’t touch the ground. Mistakes pile on as the roller-skating girl gradually becomes part of an elaborate, poster-worthy scene: a giant tree full of kids floating through the sky on wildly imagined, balloon-powered contraptions. Anticipation and excitement mount as each part of the scene unfolds through Luyken’s striking use of black ink, white space and deft additions of soft green, yellow and pink watercolor and colored pencil.

Just when you think the scene is complete, Luyken has another trick up her sleeve, deflecting readers’ attention back to the artist and how art is made, warts and all.

Mistakes in art—as in life—happen, and Luyken shows young readers in a glorious way how they often lead to bigger and better outcomes than anyone could imagine.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

While his four piggy siblings go sailing, this Little Pig is stuck at home. With plenty of spare time, some bits of string and a guide to sailing knots, Little Pig is an expert knot-tier by the time Poppy arrives with a carved wooden boat. Together Little Pig and Poppy sail the boat on imaginary voyages—with tiny wooden Poppy and Little Pig sailors onboard. When the ship heads over a waterfall, Little Pig makes a daring rescue, and he finally has a story to share with his seafaring older siblings. Adventures, after all, come in all sizes.

David Hyde Costello’s illustrations are colorful, kid-friendly and expressive. The softly painted forest and stream are especially welcoming as lovely reminders of summer days. Little Pig’s sailboat may lure readers out into the wild outdoors with homemade ships of their own. A step-by-step knot diagram will entice readers of all ages to attempt a few nautical knots, so have a shoelace or rope handy when reading. The pigs’ conversations help tell the story and add a layer of comedy, especially when Poppy finds himself going head-over-heels into the stream.

A story about family and cooperation, creativity and problem-­solving, Little Pig Saves the Ship is calm enough for bedtime but will stand up to multiple rereads. The relaxing vibe of a day spent wading in a stream is perfect for a summer-themed storytime.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Every now and then a picture book comes along that so eloquently captures a particular time and place that the story long lingers in your mind. This is such with Town Is by the Sea, the story of a young boy who lives by the sparkling sea in a Nova Scotia town in the 1950s, yet daily watches his father head to work in a mine deep below ground.

The author uses a refrain—“It goes like this”—to contrast the two worlds. On the one hand, the boy lives on a grassy cliff by the sea with his town spreading far and wide around him. His world is expansive, and much of his life is outdoors, where he visits the sea, “calm and quiet.” Illustrator Sydney Smith brings readers resplendent paintings of the sea, sun bouncing off the waves. It’s simply gorgeous. On the other hand is his father, deep underground at work. Author and illustrator pivot from spreads of a sun-drenched seaside town to spreads of dominating blackness: “And deep down under that sea, my father is digging for coal.” We barely see the men at the bottom of each of these spreads, hunched over and hard at work.

The boy is well aware of the sacrifices his father makes. There’s no sentimentality here, and the writing is tender and understated: The boy knows it’s his father’s work, and it was once his grandfather’s work. But he knows mining means his father must enter a world of darkness, foregoing the salt-tinged air and shimmering waters of the sea just to keep food on the table.

Then there’s supper, and his father is home, safe. “He looks tired, but he gives me a big smile and a hug.” The boy knows that it will one day be his turn to mine: “In my town, that’s the way it goes.” A closing author’s note adds a bit more information about such traditions in these mining towns.

It goes like this: This is one of the most beautiful picture books you’ll see this year. It’s picture book-making at its very best.

Julie Danielson features authors and illustrators at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children’s literature blog.

Bears make the perfect storybook characters: curmudgeonly, routine-bound, honey-filled, with warm hearts hidden deep under fur and padding. Gerald Kelley’s charming Please Please the Bees joins the shelf of grumpy-bear-learns-a-lesson tales, and has a good reminder for gratitude and kindness in readers of all ages.

Benedict’s days are busy: errands, violin, knitting, bed, errands, violin, knitting, bee strike. Bee strike? Putting a honey-less damper on his day, the bees refuse to work, citing an unacceptable yard and deplorable hive conditions. Life without honey is flat-out miserable. But dry toast and an uncompromising bee might be just the motivation Benedict needs to clean up his self-centered lifestyle and overgrown yard.

Kelley thoughtfully tells his story with both words and pictures, injecting his simple narration with punchy, fed-up bee dialogue—these bees mean business. Benedict’s smashed violin and tangled yarn underline the honey-less dreadfulness, while Benedict’s furrowed brow lets us in on his earnest inner struggle. Warm, soft colors and detail-filled pages will keep eyes of all ages busy. Earbuds, sunglasses and a computer add a touch of modernity, while wind chimes and cozy quilts make Benedict’s world appealing and homey. Bee strike signs and raincoat-clad bees subtly add humor while underlining the stern message.

There is no lack of grouchy bear books, but there is always room for one that is cleverly told. Please Please the Bees is a good reminder for all of us: A little thankfulness and hard work—like a few jars of honey—goes a long way.

In this reminder that the good teachers “see everything,” readers meet on the first page an unknown author, writing a letter to her former teacher, the special one who in her elementary-school years really understood her. “Dear Teacher,” she writes, “Whenever I had something to tell you, I tugged on your shirt and whispered in your ear. This time I’m writing a letter.”

The author of the letter recalls the first day of second grade, one that filled her with dread, since school involved two things at which she did not excel: “sitting still and listening.” But her teacher—patient, creative and dedicated—always knew precisely how to engage her students, including this antsy, curious girl. We see her, via the letter writer’s memories, gently guide the girl through her second grade year, encouraging her to learn to read (“the reading corner became our secret garden of stories”) and how to listen. Instead of forcing a student who doesn’t fit into the traditional educational mold to play by stringent rules, she calmly makes room for the girl’s way of learning, making her second grade year the most memorable of all.

Hopkinson laces this sweet, tender story with much humor. At one point, the girl has to look up “exasperating” in the dictionary. She’s unsure of its meaning but just knows she heard the teacher use it that one time she wandered off on a field trip. Carpenter puts color to clever use, accentuating the girl’s singular personality and stubbornness by giving her a bright yellow raincoat, a vivid pink dress and striking purple pants—with more muted colors for the other students.

In the end—get out your tissues for this happy cry—we see that the letter-writer is now grown and is a teacher herself, about to start her first job. “I’ll think about everything you helped me explore,” she writes, “and try my best to be like you.” It’s a heartfelt tribute to the hard work of the best teachers—those who nudge and prompt, finding smart and loving ways to inspire fidgety students to learn.

Julie Danielson features authors and illustrators at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children’s literature blog.